Best Toasters 2025: Our top choices, rated and reviewed

It’s no wonder we gave the Dualit 4 Slot Lite toaster a perfect five-star rating. Not only does it accommodate up to four large slices of bread, it boasts genuinely useful extra features that make the toaster especially reliable.

The toaster has been around for years, in fact we reviewed the model back in 2017, but it’s stood the test of time and remains one of the best toasters available today.

The 4 Slot Lite features four extra-wide 36mm slots, a dial to control browning, dedicated defrost and bagel buttons plus a genuinely useful ‘Peek & Pop’ function which allows you to check on your toast’s progress without cancelling the cooking cycle.

This isn’t where the clever tools end. Dualit’s own ‘Perfect Toast’ technology adjusts the toaster’s settings according to its current temperature, so every slice is browned consistently.

For example, if you’ve just used the device but still need to toast more, the toaster will automatically reduce its usual cooking time in order to match the results of the first batch.

Once your toasted items have finished you can then lift the lever to raise your item further by 1.5cm, which is enough to comfortably grab the goods without burning your fingers.

To test the evenness of the browning, we toasted two slices of white bread vertically alongside two horizontally. After a full toasting cycle of two minutes and 15 seconds, we found both sets of toasts were toasted impressively evenly.

At a whopping 90cm, the 4 Slot Lite’s cable length is perhaps overly generous but luckily there’s cable management underneath so you can store away any unsightly excess.

Although this isn’t the cheapest toaster available, it’s undoubtedly a worthy investment especially thanks to the built-in intelligent features which promise consistent results every time.

If you’re on a tighter budget but still need a reliable four-slice toaster, we’d recommend the Cuisinart Signature Collection 4 Slice Toaster which is slightly cheaper but still promises consistent results.

With an anti-dust lid, extra wide toasting slots and easy-to-use controls, the Haier I-Master Series 5 Toaster is packed with features designed to remove any annoyances away from toasting.

Its anti-dust lid sits on top of the toaster when it’s not in use and is designed to prevent dust from falling in whilst covering up the usual crumb-adorned top.

Its extra wide and deep slots are able to accommodate larger slices of bread and thicker items such as bagels and crumpets too. We particularly appreciated the large slots here as the usual annoyance of bread slices sticking out and not getting fully toasted is completely eradicated.

Using the toaster is easy, thanks to simple controls that sit on its side. Simply slide the lever down and the toasting level will light up, with plus and minus buttons for you to choose a setting between one and seven.

You can even set the I-Master Series 5 to remember your optimum toasting level by pressing and holding the Favourite button. Then, simply tap this button just before you next make toast and it will recall your preferred settings.

That’s not the only additional button. For toasting bagels, or anything else that benefits from being cooked on just one side, tap the Crispy Side button and one half of each slot is turned off.

There’s also a Small Slice button for smaller slices of bread and if you want to check on your toast halfway through without interrupting its cycle, you can just slide the lever up.

We were seriously impressed with the I-Master Series 5’s performance and found that bread was not only evenly toasted but adjusting the levels really made a difference, with higher settings offering darker and crispier results. That may sound obvious but some alternatives, like the KitchenAid Toaster, don’t offer such versatility.

For a toaster that’s packed with useful features, has a sleek design and performs well, the Haier I-Master Series 5 is well-suited to most households.

If you’re looking for a reliable two-slice toaster that performs well, doesn’t take up much counter space and boasts a modern design, all for an affordable price, then you’d be hard pressed to find a better option than the Dualit Studio 2-Slice.

Although it looks sturdy, thanks to its striking metal-looking finish, it only weighs around 1.5kg making it impressively lightweight.

At around 18cm wide, 27cm deep and 20cm high, the Studio toaster is a neat and compact device that also sports a generous 90cm cable for easy placement. This cable can even be hooked up on the underside of the toaster, should you find 90cm is too long.

Its slots are a generous 3.5cm wide and the mechanism inside will adjust to the width of the bread you’re toasting, however just keep in mind that the thickest slice of bread the toaster will fit is 2.8cm.

Otherwise, the sleek design almost hides the lever into a groove which means the only part of the toaster that protrudes is the browning control dial that doubles as a cancel button. To the left of this you’ll find a defrost button while the right houses a reheat option respectively.

Overall we were impressed with the Dualit Studio 2-Slice’s performance and found it was quite fast and delivered sufficiently toasted bread almost every time. Having said that, the browning and time level will depend on the type of bread and its thickness.

For example, we tried toasting a slice of wholewheat bread which took just under two minutes on setting three, while a slice of white bread on setting four took over two minutes instead, so just keep that in mind when in use.

We also found defrosting frozen slices of bread took just under two and a half minutes to evenly toast, and the toaster could comfortably warm and crisp crumpets too.

If you’re looking for a solid toaster that doesn’t take up too much space, isn’t too expensive and performs well then the Dualit Studio 2-Slice is a great option.

The Smeg TSF02 4-Slice 2-Slot Toaster is a stylish toaster capable of browning four slices of bread in its two slots, making it a larger alternative to the brand’s two-slot, two-slice TSF01.

The Smeg TSF02 has a glossy retro design that matches Smeg’s other appliances. It comes in a wide range of super shiny colours, including cream, white, black, red, pastel blue, chrome, pink and pastel green.

The design is also sturdy, meaning the toaster is unlikely to tip over when you push the lever down, and there’s a long 88cm cable that can hook under the toaster for easy storage.

Of course, the standout feature here is the two large slots. These are spacious, allowing you to toast very long bread, including slices of sourdough and halved baguettes.

Beneath the lever, there’s a 6-level browning dial split into two increments, allowing you to toast your bread at 2.5 or 3.5 if you wish. There’s also a reheat button on the dial, meaning you don’t need to guess which level the dial should be at before hitting reheat.

Like the Dualit 4 Slot Lite Toaster, this toaster also has a specific bagel programme which can be used for bagels, flatbreads, muffins and baguettes. However, both slots do share the same set of controls.

We found the slots to be not quite long enough to place two slices of supermarket bread horizontally without them overlapping, while horizontal slices were left pale at the top where they stuck out of the toaster.

For this reason, we’d recommend either opting for smaller loaves when toasting four slices or sticking to just two slices at a time for the most even browning.

The Smeg TSF02 is a gorgeous toaster with slots long enough for sourdough slices and half baguettes and a handy bagel function. However, there is only one set of controls so, for those looking to make two types of toast at once, opt for the Morphy Richards Evoke 4-Slice Toaster instead.